Administration and Finance Committee Meeting
Draft Memorandum for the Record
Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization
May 18, 2023, Meeting
9:00 AM–9:35 AM, Zoom Video Conferencing Platform
Brian Kane, Chair, representing the MBTA Advisory Board
See attendance on page 4.
There were none.
The materials were not provided for this item ahead of the meeting and committee members deferred their vote until the June 1, 2023, committee meeting.
1. Operations Plan Draft (dated May 15, 2023) (pdf) (html)
2. Operations Plan Draft Redlined (dated May 15, 2023) (pdf) (html)
3. Operations Plan Executive Director Hiring (pdf) (html)
4. Operations Plan Executive Director Hiring Redline (pdf) (html)
B. Kane introduced the draft Operations Plan for the Boston Region MPO for discussion by the committee. B. Kane noted that the Executive Director Hiring section was not incorporated into the draft but has been provided separately for review and will be integrated for the next meeting.
Tegin Teich, Executive Director, stated that edits have been made to various sections to reflect previous discussions at committee meetings.
T. Teich discussed the final revision timeline of the Operations Plan and the goal to introduce the final document to the full MPO board on June 15, 2023.
Lenard Diggins, Regional Transportation Advisory Council, suggested grammatical adjustments to Section 2.1.V.
L. Diggins asked about the updated text in the notice of nondiscrimination at the beginning of the document. Annette Demchur, MPO staff, stated that the text was updated to reflect guidance from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation Office of Diversity and Civil Rights to make the statement more accessible to the public.
1. Operations Plan Timeline (dated May 16, 2023) (pdf) (html)
L. Diggins asked about the phrase in the timeline under the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP)-specific field, requiring information to be shared with the board in December about how projects fared in the previous fiscal year. T. Teich stated that this phrase came from the Memorandum of Understanding and was scheduled for December to allow the board to understand project outcomes before beginning the next cycle of TIP development when funding decisions must be made. A. Demchur added that it is a federal requirement to post a list of all obligated projects annually.
1. Executive Director Hiring (pdf) (html)
2. Executive Director Hiring Redlined (pdf) (html)
T. Teich stated that the Communication Norms are intended to be a companion document to the Operations Plan. Since the May 11, 2023, committee meeting, additional steps have been added to the Reporting section to outline the options for the chair and vice-chair in the event of reported misconduct. T. Teich stated that both documents have been reviewed by a legal team to ensure that no legal requirements are contradicted in the proposed processes.
L. Diggins suggested editorial adjustments to language in the Communication Norms.
There were none.
A motion to adjourn was made by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (Eric Bourassa).
|
Members |
Representatives and Alternates |
|
Massachusetts Department of Transportation |
Derek Krevat |
|
MBTA Advisory Board |
Brian Kane |
|
Metropolitan Area Planning Council |
Eric Bourassa |
|
MetroWest Regional Collaborative, City of Framingham |
Dennis Giombetti |
|
Other Attendees |
Affiliation |
|
Johannes Epke |
Conservation Law Foundation |
|
Jim Fitzgerald |
Boston Planning and Development Agency |
|
Jon Seward |
MoveMassachusetts |
|
MPO Staff/Central Transportation Planning Staff |
|
|
Tegin Teich, Executive Director |
|
|
Silva Ayvazyan |
|
|
Logan Casey |
|
|
Annette Demchur |
|
|
Hiral Gandhi |
|
|
Erin Maguire |
|
|
Gina Perille |
|
|
The Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) operates its programs, services, and activities in compliance with federal nondiscrimination laws including Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI), the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987, and related statutes and regulations. Title VI prohibits discrimination in federally assisted programs and requires that no person in the United States of America shall, on the grounds of race, color, or national origin (including limited English proficiency), be excluded from participation in, denied the benefits of, or be otherwise subjected to discrimination under any program or activity that receives federal assistance. Related federal nondiscrimination laws administered by the Federal Highway Administration, Federal Transit Administration, or both, prohibit discrimination on the basis of age, sex, and disability. The Boston Region MPO considers these protected populations in its Title VI Programs, consistent with federal interpretation and administration. In addition, the Boston Region MPO provides meaningful access to its programs, services, and activities to individuals with limited English proficiency, in compliance with U.S. Department of Transportation policy and guidance on federal Executive Order 13166. The Boston Region MPO also complies with the Massachusetts Public Accommodation Law, M.G.L. c 272 sections 92a, 98, 98a, which prohibits making any distinction, discrimination, or restriction in admission to, or treatment in a place of public accommodation based on race, color, religious creed, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, disability, or ancestry. Likewise, the Boston Region MPO complies with the Governor's Executive Order 526, section 4, which requires that all programs, activities, and services provided, performed, licensed, chartered, funded, regulated, or contracted for by the state shall be conducted without unlawful discrimination based on race, color, age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, religion, creed, ancestry, national origin, disability, veteran's status (including Vietnam-era veterans), or background. A complaint form and additional information can be obtained by contacting the MPO or at http://www.bostonmpo.org/mpo_non_discrimination. To request this information in a different language or in an accessible format, please contact Title VI Specialist By Telephone: For people with hearing or speaking difficulties, connect through the state MassRelay service: · Relay Using TTY or Hearing Carry-over: 800.439.2370 · Relay Using Voice Carry-over: 866.887.6619 · Relay Using Text to Speech: 866.645.9870 For more information, including numbers for Spanish speakers, visit https://www.mass.gov/massrelay. |